Jenson Button keeps Ross Brawn on side with his decision

Jenson Button's craving to become Formula One world champion has probably cost him more than any other driver in the history of the sport. It became clear yesterday that he was willing to give up at least £15million over the next three years simply to get the opportunity to drive a car put on the grid by Ross Brawn, regarded as Formula One's finest technical director.
But that sacrifice comes just four years after the British driver extricated himself from a long contract wrangle with Sir Frank Williams, which is thought to have cost him as much as £9million in compensation payments to the team. It is money to make the eyes water, around £24million before Button turns a wheel of his 200mph Formula One car in anger in 2009.
Many will believe that a young man whose career earnings could add up to as much as £60million over nine years in the sport and whose reputation as a playboy goes before him can afford it. But Button's motivation has never been about money but winning.
It became clear yesterday that Button was determined to play his part in the success of a management buyout of Honda and agreed to give up half his salary plus bonuses, which could amount to as much as £5million a year. He will then pay his own way, plus the expenses and salaries of a small entourage that includes his physiotherapist and personal assistant. He is also certain to keep paying the air fares and hotel bills of John, his devoted father, who has attended almost every race of his son's career.

The extraordinary gesture of solidarity with his team comes when calls are growing for the Government to curb the multimillion-pound excesses of executives in failing banks.
Button refused to return to Williams in 2005, when Sir Frank called in his contract, because he believed that Honda would give him a winning car. It did, but only once, at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2006, where the machine was an incidental contributor to a spectacular drive through the rain by a young man who proved his credentials as one of the finest drivers of his generation.
Two tough seasons of failure in cars more like tractors than flying machines followed, but the recruitment of Brawn, who had guided Michael Schumacher to seven world
championships at Benetton and Ferrari, convinced Button, 29, that he must stay with the Japanese team. However, Honda's decision before Christmas to pull out of the sport changed everything. The carmaker set a deadline of January 31 to go, but now is staying in all but name. Honda appears to have decided that it is more sensible to allow the team to continue this season under Brawn than to spend £100million on closing it down. But Brawn, the team principal, and Nick Fry, the managing director, will have to cut costs, which could mean as many as 200 redundancies at the factory in Brackley, Northamptonshire.
Button's contract was secure, but he wanted to make his own contribution. “The people who have said that Jenson was a money-grabbing playboy should eat their words,” a source said last night. “He could have held out for his full pay, like certain bankers, and even gone to law with a cast-iron case. But that was never in his mind.
“All he wanted was to come to a deal that would allow him to drive a car put on the grid by Ross Brawn. Nothing else mattered.”

Source:the times